Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I wish to be associated with the words of congratulations to Senator Leyden. I also note that our esteemed colleague, Senator Ross, also featured in the frame. The rest of us can only hope to do better and try a little harder next year to emulate what they have done. We will do our best.

In recognising the points made by Senator Brian Hayes regarding the Government's views on the death in Donegal, I remind the House of a point I made recently that cancer screening could prevent more deaths than occur as a result of gunfire or road accidents. I ask the Leader for a sensible, rational, ordinary person's debate on the extraordinary 31 items which will attract penalty points in the future. They have received wide acclaim in the media and from politicians. I would like to have them explained. Somebody who drives the wrong way down a dual carriageway does not need two points, but rather committal to a mental hospital or a prison. The same is true of somebody driving the wrong way around a roundabout.

Widening the scope of penalty points avoids the issue. The real issue is revealed by the figure published yesterday. One third of all road fatalities are caused by drink. If we want to do something serious, it is not about the accumulation of points for silly misdemeanours. What needs to be done, as called for by groups such as Alcohol Action Ireland and others, is random breath testing. If such testing were put into operation we would at one blow solve one third of the fatalities as a result of road traffic accidents.

While it is not politically correct to say so, I believe introducing 31 new offences brings politics into disrepute. I defy anyone to understand all the offences. Some issues are inexplicable. References are made to road markings which do not exist on many roads here. This is a simple media outing. I wish Gay Byrne well with his 31 items. No more than with the rest of what he needs to do, there is a simple thing we could do. We could introduce random breath testing, which would eliminate one third of the fatalities. It would make sense and have an immediate impact. Let us see the political will to do so and disregard the nonsense. People accumulating points for silly misdemeanours will do nothing to save lives on the road.